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The 33 Strategies of War

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Strategies of war—and the subtle social game of everyday life—by the bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power  

Robert Greene’s groundbreaking guides, The 48 Laws of Power , The Art of Seduction , and Mastery  espouse profound, timeless lessons from the events of history to help readers vanquish an enemy, ensnare an unsuspecting victim, or become the greatest in your field. In The 33 Strategies of War , Greene has crafted an important addition to this ruthless and unique series.

Spanning world civilizations, synthesizing dozens of political, philosophical, and religious texts and thousands of years of violent conflict, The 33 Strategies of War is a comprehensive guide to the subtle social game of everyday life informed by the most ingenious and effective military principles in war. Structured in Greene’s trademark style, The 33 Strategies of War is the I-Ching of conflict, the contemporary companion to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War .

Abundantly illustrated with examples from history, including the folly and genius of everyone from Napoleon to Margaret Thatcher, Shaka the Zulu to Lord Nelson, Hannibal to Ulysses S. Grant, as well as movie moguls, Samurai swordsmen, and diplomats, each of the thirty-three chapters outlines a strategy that will help you win life’s wars. Learn the offensive strategies that require you to maintain the initiative and negotiate from a position of strength, or the defensive strategies designed to help you respond to dangerous situations and avoid unwinnable wars. The great warriors of battlefields and drawing rooms alike demonstrate prudence, agility, balance, and calm, and a keen understanding that the rational, resourceful, and intuitive always defeat the panicked, the uncreative, and the stupid. An indispensable book, The 33 Strategies of War provides all the psychological ammunition you need to overcome patterns of failure and forever gain the upper hand.

496 pages, Hardcover

First published April 2, 2001

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About the author

Robert Greene

227 books16.2k followers
There is more than one author by this name on Goodreads.

Best-selling author and public speaker, Robert Greene was born in Los Angeles. He attended U.C. California at Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he received a degree in classical studies. He has worked in New York as an editor and writer at several magazines, including Esquire; and in Hollywood as a story developer and writer.

Robert has lived in London, Paris, and Barcelona; he speaks several languages and has worked as a translator. In 1995 he was involved in the planning and creation of the art school Fabrica, outside Venice, Italy. There he met Joost Elffers, the New York book packager and discussed with him his idea for a book on power and manipulation, the ultimate modern version of Machiavelli's The Prince.

Robert and Joost became partners and in 1998, The 48 Laws of Power was born. The book has been a national and international bestseller, and has been translated into 17 languages. In 2001, Robert released his second book, The Art of Seduction, which is more than a sequel to The 48 Laws; it is both a handbook on how to wield the ultimate form of power, and a detailed look at the greatest seducers in history.

The third in this highly anticipated series of books, The 33 Strategies of War, hit bookstores January 2006 and offers a strategic look behind the movements of War in application to everyday life. In addition to having a strong following within the business world and a deep following in Washington, DC, these books are also being hailed by everyone from war historians to some of the heaviest hitters in the rap world (including Jay-Z and 50 Cent).

The popularity of these books along with their vast and fiercely loyal audience proves these are profound, timeless lessons from historical leaders that still ring true in today's culture. Robert currently lives in Los Angeles.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 827 reviews
Profile Image for Andy.
1,581 reviews520 followers
July 11, 2021
This guy writes the scariest books out there. Way scarier than Stephen King. Either that or the funniest. I can't tell. His amorality is so exaggerated it's hard to believe. Evil isn't one supernatural weirdo, evil is everyone everywhere all the time. War in this book is a big game between egomaniacs who don't care if they happen to kill millions of people. The author wants you to be like these crazy jerks in your daily life because otherwise crazy jerks will crush you. If people start accusing you of being immoral because you are, you shouldn't feel bad because they are all immoral liars too.

Sociopaths are real and they see the world this way; "homo homini lupus" (man is a wolf to man) has been their excuse for thousands of years for all the evil they do. But why is the solution for everyone to be a wolf? Sociopaths are only 4% of the population! According to the Milgram experiments, most people are sheep and will obey the wolves or whoever is giving the orders, but where are the sheepdogs and shepherds? Robert Greene would say they should read his books. Because you know the wolves do, and they are coming to eat you. Scary.

The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout The Sociopath Next Door
Profile Image for Issa Deerbany.
374 reviews541 followers
March 3, 2018
رغم ان الكتاب من عنوانه يدور حول الحروب واستراتيجيتها ، فإن الكتاب من صنف التنمية البشرية.

٣٣ استراتيجية يمكن اتباعها في الحروب ضد العدو ، ثم يقوم بربطها في حياتنا اليومية ، في العمل في التعامل مع الأصدقاء، وحتى مع عائلتك.

الأمثلة التي يستشهد بها الكاتب رائعة ومن جميع مراحل التاريخ. استخدمها قادة عظام في حروبهم واتصاراتهم.

بالاضافة الى أقوال خالدة لقادة على مر التاريخ أدرجت اقوالهم على حواشي الكتاب بما يتناسب مع الموضوع او الاستراتيجية المتبعة.

كتاب ممتع ومشوق.
Profile Image for Lady Jane.
189 reviews69 followers
February 18, 2012
In 33 Strategies of War, Robert Greene turns military combat into an appropriate metaphor for life in the so-called civilized world. The author introduces the book with a warning to not be deceived by the political correctness and democratic values that the modern world promotes, because beneath the splendor of the king’s court is nothing more than human nature broiling in its most aggressive essence, and rather vented through covert, subtle, and socially accepted ways. The civilized world is inherently duplicitous, with an ever widening gap between our ideals and reality. This is not because humans are bad people, according to Greene, but rather because we cannot help it. As I always say, nature is simply politically incorrect. Instead of mortals struggling against nature in a hopeless fight, Greene suggests that we should simply understand our nature, accept it, and deal with it in strategically mature ways.

From the Preface:

“We live in a culture that promotes democratic values of being fair to one and all, the importance of fitting into a group, and knowing how to cooperate with other people. We are taught early in life that those who are outwardly combative and aggressive pay a social price: unpopularity and isolation. These values of harmony and cooperation are perpetuated in subtle and not-so-subtle ways—through books on how to be successful in life; through the pleasant, peaceful exteriors that those who have gotten ahead in the world present to the public; through notions of correctness that saturate the public space. The problem for us is that we are trained and prepared for peace and we are not at all prepared for what confronts us in the real world—war.

This war exists on several levels. Most obviously, we have our rivals on the other side. The world has become increasingly competitive and nasty. In politics, business, even the arts, we face opponents who will do almost anything to gain an edge. More troubling and complex, however, are the battles we face with those who are supposedly on our side. There are those who outwardly play the team game, who act very friendly and agreeable, but who sabotage us behind the scenes, use the group to promote their own agenda. Others, more difficult to spot, play subtle games of passive aggression, offering help that never comes, instilling guilt as a secret weapon. On the surface everything seems peaceful enough, but just below it, is every man and woman for him or herself, this dynamic infecting even families and relationships. The culture may deny this reality and promote a gentler picture, but we know it and feel it, in our battle scars.”


It is essential to learn the strategies and mind games of the adept, in civilized circumstances more than anywhere else, in order to best defend oneself from the snares of enemies and frenemies alike. ”What we need are not impossible and inhuman ideals of peace and cooperation to live up to, and the confusion that brings us, but rather practical knowledge on how to deal with conflict and the daily battles we face,” explains Greene. Instead of pathologizing typically human characteristics or passing moralistic judgments, he simply presents the behaviors observed in the species throughout centuries of study, and provides insight on how to deal with attacks and obstacles accordingly. In the most primitive state, everything humans do can be reduced to self-interest, and in this sense life is merely a major chess tournament in which everyone seeks to win. The problem is that people’s self-interest is not always compatible with the self-interest of others, and therein lies the root of all war. That is precisely where 33 Strategies of War comes in handy.


The Book

The 33 strategies are divided into four sections: 1) Self Directed Warfare, 2) Organizational (Team) Warfare, 3) Defensive Warfare, and 4) Offensive Warfare.

The first section is perhaps my favorite because it focuses on the only person and thing one can control—oneself, one’s actions, and one’s perspective. This type of philosophy reminds me very much of another favorite work of mine, The Enchiridion by Epictetus. Often one’s greatest battles originate from one’s fallacies and poor way of dealing with the winds of life, so it is refreshing to read a book that reminds us of personal accountability in conflict, instead of instilling a victim mentality and blaming everyone else. Remember, one of the best aspects about Greenian literature is that there is never a good and bad—things are simply amoral, and a master chess player ought to first master himself.

The second section is excellent too because it provides tips on how to deal with the “Groupthink” philosophy that has plagued the modern workplace. This section seems to be directed at those in positions of power for it gives plenty of insight as to how authority figures think. These pages are essential reading for anybody who has to work for a master in a group, for it reveals the tricks masters apply to lead happy, obedient masses. As a member of the subordinate working class, I greatly appreciate this treasure of knowledge.

The third section, which deals with defensive warfare, fascinates me because it has some of the most useful tips in strategies against clandestine attacks from the other chess players of life whose interests just do not happen to correspond with ours, or those who strike at us for sheer entertainment.

The fourth section dealing with offensive warfare is also useful to keep around in the back of one’s mind even if one never plans to engage in any type of strike. For let us remember the famous Aesop fable, “The Wild Boar and the Fox:”

”A wild boar was engaged in whetting his tusks upon the trunk of a tree in the forest when a fox came by and, seeing what he was at, said to him, ‘Why are you doing that, pray? The huntsmen are not out today, and there are no other dangers at hand that I can see.’ ‘True, my friend,’ replied the boar, ‘but the instant my life is in danger I shall need to use my tusks. There’ll be no time to sharpen them then.’”

Robert Greene uses for examples some of the most skillful men in the arts of strategic war, such as Sun Tzu, Julius Caesar, Hernan Cortez, and Napoleon Bonaparte; he also presents examples from psychological wars outside the battlefield, and shares stories about Alfred Hitchcock and Mae West as examples. Also, the author quotes some of the most cunning thinkers in the art of strategy, such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Niccolo Machiavelli, Musashi Miyamoto, and Saul Alinsky. Greene makes the history lessons enjoyable by giving the strategies a modern twist through hypothetical examples on how they can apply to the reader in modern day situations in the modern world’s battlefields: the workplace, social gatherings, and even the family setting.

Nobody escapes the author’s frighteningly clear microscope, which makes his candid work irresistibly appealing in a world that is shrouded by the tawdry twenty-five cent jewelry of politeness and political correctness. The author speaks in the second person’s point of view, which makes readers feel as if they are having a conversation with Athena herself, the goddess of wisdom and war strategy. In fact, the book is dedicated to Athena, as well as to Napoleon, Sun-tzu, and the author’s charming little feline by the name of Brutus.

Allow me to culminate with an amazing quote from this amazing book:

“We humans have a particular limitation to our reasoning powers that causes us endless problems: when we are thinking about someone or about something that has happened to us, we generally opt for the simplest, most easily digestible interpretation. An acquaintance is either good or bad, nice or mean, his intentions noble or nefarious; an event is positive or negative, beneficial or harmful; we are happy or sad. The truth is that nothing in life is ever so simple. People are invariably a mix of good and bad qualities, strengths and weaknesses. Their intentions in doing something can be helpful and harmful to us at the same time, a result of their ambivalent feelings toward us. Even the most positive event has a downside. And we often feel happy and sad at the same time. Reducing things to simpler terms makes them easier for us to handle, but because it is not related to reality, it also means we are constantly misunderstanding and misreading. It would be of infinite benefit for us to allow more nuances and ambiguity into our judgments of people and events” (613).
Profile Image for BookHunter M  ُH  َM  َD.
1,512 reviews3,779 followers
March 21, 2023

الحرب أو أي نوع من الصراع يتم شنها و كسبها عبر الاستراتيجية. تخيل الاستراتيجية كسلسلة من الخطوط و الأسهم الموجهة نحو هدف معين: إيصالك إلى مكان ما في هذا العالم. مساعدتك على محاربة مشكلة تعترضك. معرفة كيف تحاصر عدوك و تدمره. غير أنه و قبل أن توجه سهامك هذه نحو اعدائك. عليك أن توجهها أولا نحو نفسك.
إن عقلك هو نقطة الانطلاق لكل حرب و لكل استراتيجية. العقل الذي تسيطر عليه العاطفة بسهولة. الذي يعيش في الماضي أكثر مما في الحاضر. الذي لا يستطيع أن يرى العالم بوضوح و بشكل طارئ. سيخلق استراتيجيات تخطيء الهدف دائما.

الناس ينزعون إلى التصرف بغموض و سرية لأن هذا أكثر أمنا من القيام بشيء ما علانية. احذر الناس الذين يتوارون وراء واجهة من التعبيرات التجريدية الغامضة. و المواقف غير المنحازة. لا أحد غير منحاز. سؤال يطرح بشكل حاد أو رأي تمت صياغته لكي يهين. سيجعل هذا النوع من الناس يتفاعلون و يعلنون انحيازهم لهذا الطرف أو ذاك.

لطالما وجد القادة من المفيد أن يكون لديهم عدو يقف على بواباتهم في الأوقات المضطربة. فهذا العدو يلهى الناس عن الصعوبات التي يواجهونها. حين تستعمل اعداءك لكي تحشد جنودك. قم سريعا بوضع هؤلاء الأعداء في موقع القطب المضاد. جنودك سيقاتلون بشراسة أكبر حين يشعرون ببعض الكراهية. لذا قم بتضخيم الفروقات بينك و بين العدو. عيّن الخط الفاصل بوضوح.

مفتاح عدم الخوف هو أن تقنع نفسك بأن الشخص الذي تواجهه هو مجرد شخص فان. لا يختلف عنك. و هي الحقيقة في واقع الأمر. انظر إلى الشخص لا الخرافة. تخيله كطفل. كشخص ��ليء بمشاعر اللاأمان. إن وضع الشخص الأخر في حجمه الطبيعي سيساعدك على الاحتفاظ بتوازنك العقلي.

من قصة الملك بيروس و نحيبه الشهير بعد معركة اسكالوم جاء تعبير: نصر بيروسي. الذي يشير إلى انتصار يوازي الهزيمة. إذ يتحقق بكلفة كبيرة. المنتصر منهك جدا بحيث لا يستطيع استغلال انتصاره. و هش جدا بحيث لا يستطيع خوض المعركة التالية.

ولد ماو و نشأ في مزرعة. و الحياة الزراعية في الصين يمكن أن تكون قاسية. على المزارع أن يكون صبورا. و أن يتعامل مع الفصول المتغيرة و المناخ المتقلب. قبل آلاف السنين ظهرت التاوية من هذه الحياة الصعبة. و ثمة مفهوم أساسي في التاوية هو الـ: وي وو. فكرة الفعل من خلال عدم الفعل. السيطرة على وضع معين عبر عدم محاولة السيطرة عليه. الوصول للحكم عبر التنازل عنه. يعكس مبدأ الـ: وي وو الاعتقاد بأنك إذا ما تصرفت بردة فعل مع الظروف و حاربتها. و بالنضال المستمر في الحياة. فإنك في الواقع تتأخر. و تخلق الإضطراب في طريقك و الصعوبات لنفسك. أحيانا من الأفضل أن تحني رأسك. و ألا تفعل شيئا حتى ينقضي الشتاء. في لحظات كهذه يمكنك أن تلتقط أنفاسك و تقوي هويتك.

الشهادة تحولك إلى رمز. علامة استدلال باتجاه المستقبل. هذه الاستراتيجية تنجح إذا كنت مهما بما فيه الكفاية. إذا كان لخسارتك قيمة رمزية. لكن ينبغي أن تتضافر الظروف لكي تؤكد على صوابية قضيتك و بشاعة قضية العدو. ينبغي أيضا أن تكون تضحيتك فريدة. الكثير من الشهداء على مدى زمني طويل جدا سيفسدون التأثير المطلوب.

عليك أن تطرح على نفسك هذا السؤال: ما جدوى أن تكون مباشرا و أماميا إذا كان ذلك يزيد مقاومة الناس و يجعلهم أكثر تيقنا من أفكارهم؟ قد تمنحك المباشرة و النزاهة إحساسا بالراحة. لكنهما يثيران الخصومة.
إن الأشخاص الذين اكتسبوا السلطة في العالم المعاصر الصعب هم أولئك الذين تعلموا اللامباشرة. تعلموا قيمة مقاربة الأمور من زوايا معينة. و إخفاء نواياهم. و خفض مقاومة العدو. و ضرب الخاصرة الناعمة المكشوفة بدلا من نطح القرون. و بدلا من دفع الناس دفعا يحاولون استمالتهم لكي يميلوا في الاتجاه الذي يريدونه.

حشد ميكيافيلي كتبه بالنصائح التي لا غنى عنها. بعد ذلك عرض في كتاباته الكثير من النوادر و القصص التاريخية التي توضح أفكاره. كما اقتبس عن كتابات كلاسيكية. معدلا في سياقها لتتناسب مع أهدافه. أخيرا استعمل لغة بسيطة و صريحة ليضفي حيوية على كتاباته.

و كذلك فعل هذا الكتاب.
Profile Image for Serena.
55 reviews
January 13, 2009
Excellent if you love History - in particular famous figures, battles, and wars. He humanizes historical people/events in a way that makes what could be dense and overwhelming reading very exciting.
July 14, 2008
I’d like to give this a 3.5 stars, please.

The good:

- Lots of illustrative stories. (After seeing 300, though, I admit to rushing home and being annoyed I couldn’t find anything…especially since I knew what [wouldn’t] happen to Xerxes because I was reading this at the time.)

- A good guide to different approaches to strategy and war.

The bad:

- Usually when people say a book is too long, I assume they’re used to reading magazine articles and are kind of lazy. (I know, that’s awful.) With this, though, I started to feel like he got paid more to write longer chapters. I started seeing the same stories in different parts of the book, and things-are-blending-together redundancy is a cardinal sin in my book. I like clean and conscise. when I get 1/4 through the book and am seeing the same stories, I’m wondering how often I’m going to read them before I’m done.

- Greene’s books tend to be about getting something. In the right context, that’s okay with me, but I have read few books that feel so manipulative as his. (That includes the Seduction and Power books. Do his techniques work in the right hands? Absolutely. Is there danger in hollowing yourself out enough to use these things without feeling bad about those you’re affecting? Absolutely!) Referent power is when people do things because they like you and want to be like you, and Greene explains why this is important and “how” to do it…unfortunately, this isn’t one of those things that’s easy to fake.

- There’s not a lot of honor in many of the approaches. Granted, it’s war, and it works, but if you have issues with stabbing people in the back (sometimes literally), you will have issues with some of the approaches. As you read, you’ll see more and more value to stabbing people in the back…but I go back to my other points. Do you really want to be that cold? (BTW, I did read this as research of sorts rather than to Go to War with someone or something. So maybe I wasn’t feeling bitter enough.) I read The Art of War after this, because it’s referenced so much I started to wonder why I hadn’t just read that instead. The translation I read, at least, has the feel of “we do what is necessary,” rather than “we will rip their heads off and enjoy doing it, who needs friends you can’t trust them anyhow, mwah ha ha ha.”

- Even if you think the rest of my remarks are a little silly, this one may be the most important con. Many of the 33 strategies contradict themselves. There is an approach for everything, and any good warrior realizes that you play to the situation, but that is an art form rather than a connect-the-dots. If you’re a critical thinker who can see why you would use one strategy in one situation and the opposite (which may actually be called a bad move in another chapter) will get a lot more out of this than someone who’s looking for The Answers.

Profile Image for Jeremy.
907 reviews51 followers
February 23, 2024
"The 33 Strategies of War" basically assumes you're a member of the fucking Borgias family--everyone you meet is an enemy or a strategic friend, and both groups will likely undermine you. I feel like Robert Greene has read way too much Machiavelli, and now sees his entire life in those terms.

While I found the Game of Thronesy political/strategic angle entertaining, it becomes wearisome after 200 pages or so. Green's prose isn't awful, but he's very repetitive. On the plus side, he throws in a lot of interesting military history to illustrate his "principles".

Read this if you're a high-powered exec. looking for a book to justify your amoral/psychopathic worldview.
Profile Image for أميــــرة.
253 reviews816 followers
May 14, 2015
لم أدرك قبل الآن أن آخر كتاب انتهيتُ من قرائته وأضفته هنا كان منذ خمسة أشهر! لا أدري هل هذا فقط بسبب ما طرأ على نمط حياتي في الأشهر الأخيرة من تغيرات نتجت عن وقفتي القاسية مع نفسي، أم أن الكتب التي وقع عليها اختياري في تلك الفترة كانت غير مناسبة، أم أنني -ببساطة- فقدتُ شغفي بالقراءة. لكن لكي لا أقسو على نفسي، وأنا أشفق عليها من اتهامها بترك القراءة، عليّ أن أثني عليها لما حققتْه في الأشهر القليلة الماضية من ثبات على الأهداف ومقاومة لكل المغريات، والتخلي عن عادات سيئة وأشخاص أسوأ، وأن ألتمس لها كل العذر؛ فقد أخذ هذا وذاك من الوقت المخصص للقراءة، وحتى من صفاء الذهن المطلوب للشروع فيها إن وُجِدت الفرصة. نحن لا ندرك مدى قوتنا إلا عند اختبارها بشكل جدّي.

ما يعجبني في كتابات روبرت جرين أنه يخبرك بهذا الجانب من القصة الذي تعرف تمامًا أنه موجود لكنك ترفض أن تتقبله أو تعترف به علانيةً. رغم بدايته القوية، إلا أنني وجدتُ هذا الكتاب ما هو إلا تقديم لنفس محتوى كتابه الأول "كيف تمسك بزمام القوة: 48 قاعدة" بشكل غير متميز كثيرًا. وقع روبرت جرين في فخ الكتابة الأشهر؛ البيضة التي تبيض ذهبًا: لِمَ التغيير طالما أن هذا النهج والتناول في الكتابة قد حققا هذا النجاح؟

خرج الكتاب ضخمًا ومهلهلًا، ويمكن اختصار محتواه في أقل من ربع حجمه الحالي! لا ينفي هذا جودة انتقاء روبرت جرين للأمثلة التاريخية التي تدلل على الأقكار المطروحة، والتي ليست أصيلة بالمناسبة، فمعظمها منقولة عن أشهر كتب الحرب القديمة ككتاب صن تسو "فن الحرب".

في خطتي أن أقرأ كتاب "فن الإغواء" لنفس المؤلف، فرغم نفوري من تكراره للأفكار واستخدامه نفس الأسلوب، إلا أنني لا أستطيع أن أقاوم فضولي لمعرفة ما سيكتبه جرين عن موضوع الإغواء واستخدامه في حياتنا اليومية، وهو موضوع بدأ في جذب اهتمامي مؤخرًا. كمثال على ذلك، أضفتُ في النهاية رابط لأحد محاضرات
TEDx
عن استخدام نبرة الصوت المناسبة عند تقديم نفسك للآخرين، وهو جزء منبثق من فن الإغواء بشكل عام.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02EJ1...
Profile Image for Ryan.
42 reviews55 followers
October 10, 2009
This book is lousy. I was constantly amazed at the author's ability to say absolutely nothing through so much of the book. If you like pseudo-philosophical catch phrases like "If you want to win a battle, fight your battle to win" Ok, I just made that up, but it would have gone along fine in the book. It's filled with all these pithy says that really don't inform the reader of anything.

Its one saving grace are the stories interspersed to highlight the points Greene is making. Many of them are good, even the ones I already knew from paying attention in history class (or reading them in other history books). The problem is while about half of them are actually about war, the other half are about politicians, Hollywood moguls, and other people whom the author deems "strategic". His point (in the preface, and throughout the book) is that each of us fight war even though most of us aren't soldiers, we face in everyday life situations which we need to have a plan of attack or our enemies will destroy us.

The glaring thing is virtually none of the politicians he focuses on are conservative (he does talk about Eisenhower, but only as a general; and Margaret Thatcher), he spends an inordinate amount of time telling the reader how smart Roosevelt and Clinton were. I'm sorry I tend to notice things which are lop-sided politically. But he talks about Nazi tactics alongside allied tactics, Napoleonic tactics alongside Horatio Nelson where is the bipartisan spirit? Either talk about all the politicians or leave modern politics out of it.

The book would have been much better if it was all stories and only organized into the 33 strategies with a one sentence introduction to each strategy. But to be fair, it's a self help book, and I typically can't read self help books because of all the pithy pseudo-psych stuff in them (as described in the first paragraph). They are either unbearably vague or glaringly obvious and sometimes both. Also to be fair, I didn't finish the book. I got to about strategy 19 before I just gave up. Who knows, maybe he was saving the Reagan and Bush stories for the later strategies. I guess I'll never know.
Profile Image for Ben Love.
125 reviews23 followers
December 29, 2012
I’m beginning to learn that any book by Robert Greene is a treat. The theme seems to be as follows: lots of attention-worthy historical references, crystal clear deductions from analysis, cross examination of derived points and something to take away. All wrapped up in a bow with no fluff, zero me-me-me and enough solid information to keep you thinking for at least the year after you read the book.
The topic for this Robert Greene outing: strategy. The last of his works I read were on seduction, power (definitely his defining work) and the 50 cent collaboration 50th Law.
When first pulling together the mobile strategy for the company I’m with, it never crossed my mind to research military strategy. After reading 33 Strategies of War, I am kicking myself that I didn’t. Though, this book is a one-stop compendium on the topic. It’s unlikely you’re going to find such a collection anywhere else.
The book is thought-provoking and challenging and the topics/laws have applicability in modern life as much as ancient wars. The historian slants do not bore but make for fascinating context and paint visuals for remembering. To some though, it may come across as somewhat dark and sinister in places… but sadly that is more of a reflection on past and present actions of a messed up human race than specific to the narrative tone of the book.
Is this as punchy as 48 Laws of Power? Actually yes, though each book handles a different theme in their respectively appropriate ways.
If strategy (true grand strategy, not US business next quarter’s keep shareholders happy “strategy”) is something you need to be doing in your day job, devour this book for both the background and ignition for your own strategic planning. In this line of non-fiction, it is a read well worthy of your attention and interest.
Profile Image for Ramy.
1,190 reviews777 followers
January 5, 2017
يا خبر ابيض ...رحلة طويلة عشتها مع الكتاب دا و اخيرا خلص
فى لحظات انا مكنتش بقراه و انما كنت بدرسه

رحلة من منتصف شهر 11-2016 و لحد 5-1-2017
قريته و انا منشكح و و انا زعلان و انا مركز و و انا مش مركز
قريته و انا بردان و و انا بردان "اوى"

الكتاب لا يقصد استراتيجيات الحرب الحرب اللى هى مدافع و دبابات و انما الامثلة الحربية هى فقط اسقاطات عملية على اسلوب تفكيرنا ك بشر
الكتاب برضه فى امثلة ل حروب و صراعات و انتخابات و صفقات و ماتشات
انتهت مش للاقوى و انما لذو الاستراتيجية
احيانا كونك الاقوى فقط لا يضمن لك الانتصار احيانا من يحتاج الانتصار اكثر هو من ينتصر

التكتيكات هى الخطيط لمعركة قصيرة الامد
الاستراتيجية هى حزمة تاكتيكات ليست ل معركة واحدة و انام ل مجموعة معارك تستهدف الانتصار ب اغلبها او ب المعارك الاخيرة لتضمن الانتصار فى النهاية
مثال : ممكن نقول ان الزمالك فى الماتش الاخير كان التكتيك بتاعه كويس جدا لكن الاهلى كانت عنده استراتيجية للفوز بالماتش و هو ما قد كان

الكتاب خلانى اعيش رحلة مع جانيز خان - يوليوس قيصر - هانيبال قائد القرطاجيين - نابليون بونابرت - الجنرال رومل و الكثيرين من الاستراتيجيين
فى ناس كسبت معارك ب القوة الصرفة الغاشمة و فى ناس كسبتها ب الهروب منها اصلا..ب التراجع امام العدو لجعله يمل..بعمل حرب استنزاف على العدو ... بعمل حرب نفسية اخلاقية عليه امام الراى العام - بعمل حرب ارهاب - بعمل حرب فى مجال اخر الاقتصاد مثلا فيتسبب فى اضعافه فى مجال الحرب - ب حرب خداعية تمويهية - حرب تحالف او تصالح او مهادنةاو تفاوض و لو مؤقتة - و استراتيجيات كتيرة جدا فى الكتاب

عيب الكتاب الوحيد من وجهة نظرى و اللى اكتشفت انه مشترك و مكرر فى كل كتاب روبرت جرين
هى طريقة الهامش ..بيحكى كلام مهم جدا فى الهامش برضه و لو حكاية طويلة فى متقسمة على هامش صفحتين او حتى اكتر...فتقرا لقدام الهامش ل 3-4 صفحات و ترجع تانى للمتن الاساسى ف الصفحة اللى كانت من 3-4 صفحات ..امر مرهق ذهنيا و بيفصلك من جو الكتاب و التركيز
اتمنى لو كان الهامش من اللى هو تحت الصفحة من على جنبها
اعجبت جدا ب قصص الحكيم ايسوب ف قرات الكتاب
اثناء قرائتى ل 33 استراتيجية للحرب
القصص الحكيم للفيلسوف إيسوب
او لو مكنش فى هامش و كانت محتويات الهوامش مدمجة فى الصفحات ذاتها و خلاص
كان المفروض اجعله ينقص نجمة و لكن لم استطيع الكتاب اثر فى وجدانى

الحرب وا ستراتيجيتها هى امر لا يقوم على عدد الجيشين او قواتهم او عتادهم او حتى اسلحتهم و انما امر يعود ل عقلية قائدى الجيشين و هدف كل منهم من وراء الحرب و استراتيجيته لا تكاتيكاته..هو عاوز ايه من الحرب ؟ احيانا هناك حروب حتى الفوز بها فهو خسارة فى حد ذاتها نعم فعلا فى كدا ...الحروب البيروسية مثلا نسبة ل ملك يونانى قديم انتصر على اعداؤه و لكن فى اخر المعركة اكتشف انه لم يعد لديه جيش هو الاخر

هناك حروب قد تفوز بها و انت اقل مثلما فعل هانيبال ح��نما هاجم روما فى عقر دارها و هو الجيش الاقل و حقق نجاحات عظيمة ... و لم ينهزم الا حينما جاء جنرال رومانى و هاجم قرطاجة مثلما هاجم هانيبال روما....

هناك حروب قد تفوز بها و انت الاقل تجهيز و لكنك الاحسن خداع.. فوز الحلفاء على دور المحور عن طريق خطة خداع
هناك حروب صاحب الفوز فى المعركة الاخيرة هو عادة صاحب النصر الكلى..انتخابات الرياسة الامريكية كمثال
هناك حروب تفوز بها مع ان قواتك مقسمة و ليست مجمعة فى جيش كبير..كفوز نابليون على اغلب جيوش اوروبا مجتمعين
هناك حروب تفوز بها مع انك تستمر ب التراجع امام عدومك ..مثال فوز قيصر روسيا على نابليون فى الحرب لانه ببساطة ترك له روسيا كلها كساحة حرب خالية..حتى مل نابليون و جيشه

الكتاب شجعنى على قراءة المزيد من كتابات روبرت جرين
الكتاب التالى : الذين كانوا
Profile Image for Nada.
237 reviews21 followers
June 29, 2017
This is a book to study, not to read. The magical combo of Robert Greene, with all the branches of the human sciences served together in the same platter. For me, it is such a delight.
The only problem with the book is that with such heavy advice on winning over others, one cannot help but project the strategies and stories included within them on the people in one's circle. Every time I picked the book, an image of someone would pop to my mind and be today's enemy. Not to mention how I kept berating myself for being such a pacifist while there is so much war going around! I admit that this book changed a part of me forever, not necessarily for the more combative, but at least for the more cautious.
A book to be kept in your home library and be read and counseled
Profile Image for Motaz Mohamad.
19 reviews26 followers
Read
November 6, 2013
اذا كنت تريد ان تكون لك رؤيه استراتيجيه واسعه
و تفهم اليات الصراع ليس فقط بين الدول ولكن في مؤسستك التي تعمل بها
بشكل عميق و شامل
لا غنى لك عن هذا الكتاب
النصيحه الوحيده
هذا الكتاب ليس لمبتدئي القرائه ينصح به للمخضرمين و طوال النفس وواسعي العقول
2 reviews4 followers
Currently reading
January 1, 2009
The 33 Strategies of War picks up where the 48 Laws of Power left off. Greene continues his exploration of historical figures, turning his attention to the more focused ways to fight a conflict, weather that be an actual war or a business meeting. The book is split into 5 sections, each dealing with a different type of conflict or method of fighting a conflict, from fighting defensively to dirty fighting favored by revolutionaries. He uses the same style as in the 48 Laws where he retells the history of how a figure, such as Napoleon or Henry Kissenger fought a conflict. After telling the story, he distills the wisdom of what was done, how it was done and why it was the wisest course of action given the circumstances. Then, he explores where the people in the story weren't successful and why they failed. As I said before regarding the 48 Laws, this is one of those books I notonly wish I had read as a child, but would highly recommend to anyone with any level of ambition or love of history.
Profile Image for Omid Milanifard.
347 reviews33 followers
September 4, 2021
رابرت گرین با جمع آوری شواهد تاریخی از جنگها، مبارزات سیاسی و حتی رقابتهای شغلی، زندگی را سراسر جنگ تعریف کرده که در آن باید با استراتژی های مناسب بر دشمنانتان پیروز شوید. در هنگام خواندن این کتاب، تماس روح مرحوم ماکیاول با خود را احساس خواهید کرد. از نظر من، فلسفه زیربنایی این نویسنده به درد یک زندگی شاد نمیخورد و انسان را در پارانویا غرق خواهد کرد. به رغم این اختلاف بنیادین و همچنین این موضوع که کلا با کتابهایی از نوع تجویزی در علوم انسانی مشکل دارم، خواندن کتاب را از جهت آشنایی با برخی رویدادهای تاریخی و سیاسی و تفسیر آنها از پشت عینک جنگ افروزی و استراتژی مفید می دانم. به خصوص استراتژی های چنگیزخان مغول، ناپلئون بناپارت، سزار و هانیبال برای من جالب بود.
Profile Image for Michael Goldsmith.
13 reviews3 followers
April 3, 2013
Very good book, business is business. We want to all think that in an organization we are all a team. Unfortunately there are many out there that don’t care about you, the organization. They only care about what’s in it for them, or stepping on people along the way. You must learn the tools to protect yourself and the organization you care so dearly about. The tools you learn can only be used for good, or it will backfire.
Profile Image for Kat.
4 reviews
October 3, 2008
Credits to this book for teaching me everything that I need to know about strategy and survival. Brilliantly done!
Profile Image for Mohamed Adam.
334 reviews55 followers
May 24, 2015
33 طريقة للحياة على هذه الأرض
يمكن تلخيص الهدف من قراءة هذا الكتاب في مقولة من سفر أيوب تقول " حرب هي حياة الإنسان على الأرض "
يميل الناس للعيش في سلام وأن يتخيلوا عالما مثاليا من الحب والتعاون وحب الخير للآخرين
ولا يريدوا أن يصدقوا حتى بعد تجربتهم أن الحياة شديدة القسوة
ولا تستطيع مواجهة مجرمين لا أخلاقيين بمثالية في كل الأحوال

البعض فسر الحروب بأن سببها هو التطرف الديني وأن الأديان هي سبب الحروب دائما
ولكن هذا غير صحيح فالتاريخ منذ قبل الميلاد ممتلأ بقصص حروب عظيمة لا علاقة لها بأي دين
وكم من الملحدين شنوا حروبا ضارية
العلمانية نفسها شنت حروب شديدة العنف والتطرف

انها طبيعة الانسان ذلك الكائن اللا متناهي الساعي دائما للتميز يريد أن يظهر تفوقه على الآخر
لذلك الإنسان كائن محارب بطبعه

وفي الحياة العامة كما في الحرب كما في السياسة لابد لك من تعلم كيف تحارب باستراتيجية

فأولئك الطامحين للصعود إلى أعلى سلسلة الغذاء لابد أن يعرفوا أنه ثمة قانون واحد : إما أن تصطاد أو يتم صيدك

هذا كتاب للحياة وحياة في كتاب
هنا كانت بداية نهاية ضعفي وخضوعي للآخرين
هنا أصبحت مستقلا وفرديا
Profile Image for Paul.
1,104 reviews26 followers
March 11, 2018
Psychopathy 101. Self help book for managers, as vapid as any other self help book. Better researched than most but that does not translate into value.
Profile Image for سارة درويش.
Author 6 books5,533 followers
March 11, 2022
كتاب مهم ومفيد جدًا، غير كثيرًا من نظرتي للحياة اليومية ومنغصاتها. تنتهي منه وأنت تقول "يا أهلاً بالمعارك"
60 reviews5 followers
July 10, 2018
I was first introduced to Robert Greene’s work when I laid my hands on his debut book- “48 laws of power”. On the surface, it was out and out mean and nasty. When you dig deeper, you find it much more practical and realistic. The book shakes you up and challenges your virtues. The experience took me to another book- “Mastery” from the same author. The treatment was however much lighter in comparison. In both the books, there are numerous real examples to substantiate his points. His view points and precepts looks believable. The experience has been so overwhelming and enriching that I have become his fan and all his remaining books are in my wish list.

During our school days, we were taught by our teachers and parents about peaceful co-existence by being nice, sincere and honest. Is the world so rosy and hunky-dory? Are we trained for actual reality? The answer is no. We are prepared for peace but not trained for what confronts us in the real world and that is war, a very complicated and conundrum war. Not everything goes on expected line in this nasty and competitive world. Sometime life throws us in a muddle. What is the book all about? As far as the subject matter goes it’s similar to his earlier books. He treats every aspect of life as a conflict and suggests means to deal with them. Warfare used to be initially between tribes. It was brutal and violence. As these tribes expanded and evolved into state, strategy came into play. A war has many hidden and unforeseen costs. So waging it blindly can lead to mayhem and even self-destruction, irrespective of who wins the war. So war is fought strategically and rationally. War is not restricted militarily but has extended to political and social front as well. Enemies no longer appear upfront always but have learned to go underground and destroy indirectly. The irony is that enemies are not always on other side but can be supposedly on our side too. They may be friendly and agreeable but slyly they can sabotage us. The society as a whole has failed to live up to the ideal of peace, co-operation and selfishness. We are faced with daily battles. The book provides the ways to tackle, difficult situations and elusive warriors through skillful and intelligent maneuver.

The book contains distilled, refined and timeless wisdom on principles of warfare, recorded in dossiers. The author classifies the book into five sections depending upon the types of warfare. These are self-directed warfare, organizational warfare, defensive warfare, offensive warfare and dirty warfare. Each chapter is illustrated with historical examples, not only from military but sports, culture, politics and business as well. The book is replete with innumerable examples. The exemplar used were of greatest generals like Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Hannibal, Erwin Rommel, Vo Nguyen and Genghis Khan. It also includes works of great strategies like Sun Tzu, Miyamoto Musashi and T.E. Lawrence. Let’s pick up and discuss few of the strategies.

In the mid-15th century, when Queen Elizabeth ascended throne, England was troubled by civil war and financial mess. To add to her woes, she was confronted with embittered and powerful enemies like France and Spain. To stabilize domestic situations, she made steps to improve trade and commerce. King of Spain, Philip II was planning to invade England with Spanish armada consisting of 128 ships. On the contrary, the queen dreaded war because maintaining a huge army and other hidden costs are likely to have devastating effect on country’s economy. Some of the caveats suggested that war was inevitable but she never provoked Philip II in order to buy time. Spain empire was expanding in the new world which made it powerful. To maintain profit, Philip II relied on large fleet of ships that he paid from huge loans from Italian bankers. His credit with bank was the safe passage for ships bringing gold from new world. The queen secretly engaged her greatest captain Sir Francis Drake, who appeared to the outside world as a pirate. He began to capture treasure ships. With each capture, the interest on Philip II’s loan increased. The armada was being built for invasion. Not only it consumed enormous finances but it’s launch was delayed due to capture of treasure ships. Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth spent her meagre resources on building a sophisticated spy network. This kept her informed about King Philip’s every move. Instead of taking on Spanish head on, her fleet of mobile ships sank Armada supply line and lit fire on some of the ships. This created total chaos and it had a devastating effect on Spanish morale and discipline. By the time Armada returned to Spain, it had lost forty-four ships. This is considered as one of the most cost effective victory by a second rate nation on a power house. Elizabeth’s intention all along was to exhaust Philip’s financial resources compelling him to abandon his designs on England altogether. It’s fool-hardy to admonish and take on people who are much more aggressive and crafty than you. In such scenario, you are going to lose. Instead of threatening them openly, take an indirect route.

German army used a new form of warfare during World War-II. It was called blitzkrieg. They advanced with an incredible speed which culminated into devastating victory over France and other nations. The speed completely crippled nonplussed Allied forces and they could not react on time. By the time they thought of a counterstrategy the prevailing conditions have changed. The Germans were always one step ahead. People usually are indecisive and cautious. Striking first with speed can unnerve them. When you make swift moves, it’s likely to make others emotional, indecisive and prone to error. It completely throws them off guard. The action can provide you unimaginable momentum.

In early 1930, there was a civil war between Chinese communists led by Mao Tse-sung and Nationalists. Mao campaign involved guerilla tactics with peasant revolution as a backdrop. Within the Communist party, Soviet influenced intellectuals advocated taking Nationalists upfront just like Bolsheviks did in Soviet Union. They considered guerilla warfare as a sign of timidity and peasant revolution as backward. These people known as 28B isolated Mao and stripped him of power. The nationalist led by Chiang Kai-Shek launched a campaign to kill every single communist and in their hunt, they captured cities after cities. The nationalists were more in number and better equipped. The open confrontation with the Nationalists led to killing of many communists. Still some managed to break out of the Nationalist encirclement and continued the fight. Mao joined them and questioned 28B futile strategy. He again emerged from obscurity and became de-facto leader of the party. He again spoke of creating a Chinese revolution based on peasantry. To accomplish that they needed time and freedom from Nationalist’s attack. They kept retreating to safer places until other circumstances compelled the Nationalists to drop their current campaign. Finally, in 1949, the Communists defeated the Nationalists and exiled them from mainland China. Retreating from a strong enemy is not a sign of weakness. It’s wise to buy time to recover, evaluate and taking your next course of action.

Afghanistan is a nation which was rich in natural gas and other minerals. It also had ports on the Indian ocean. Soviet Union were training their army, built highway connecting their mainland with Afghanistan and had been trying to modernize the backward nation. The secret objective was however to make Afghanistan their satellite state. This continued for two decades after which during mid-1970, Islamic fundamentalism influence begin to grow and politically they were becoming a force. Soviet Union could sense two dangers. First, fundamentalists would come to power and cut off ties with them. Second, fundamentalist unrest may spread to Soviet Union Islamic dominated southern region. Soviet Union secretly staged a coup and bought Afghanistan Communist to power. They were sure that Afghanis would greatly benefit from modernism and embrace socialism. As it turned out the solution was more lateral in nature. However, mujahedeen power was growing in leaps and bound. To counter them, Soviet Union had sent forces to Afghanistan. The Unites States saw an opportunity to settle old score with their bete-noire and astutely started sending materials and money to mujahedeen. The mujahedeen bedeviled Soviet forces and always on the qui vive for conflict. The stubborn resistance by mujahedeen continued too long to Soviet Union’s liking. The ramification was that it drained Soviet Union both psychologically and financially. It ended in a major fiasco for Soviet Union. One should know the art when to stop. If it’s unnecessarily stretched, it’s not only going to create bitter enemies but also keeps you entangled in future conflicts. The objective is not only winning a war but winning it in a right manner which sets you up for next round of conflict. The wisdom of strategy says that avoid all conflicts where there are no realistic exits.

The Prussian king Frederick the Great during his times introduced ingenious and new ideas, strategies and tactics in his warfare that provided immense success. His future generations were following his methods as precepts. After sometimes, it became stale. The French military tacticians came up with better and radical new ideas which was implemented by Napoleon when he crushed the Prussians in the battle of Jena-Auerstadt. Napoleon’s words and action became an axiom and he seems to be infallible. Later the Prussians studied Napoleon success, adapted his best practices with much more refinement. Later this played a key role in contributing to Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. People expect your behavior to follow known patterns. Your earlier behavior becomes a precedent. Once your behavior conforms to unpredictability, it upset their calculations. An unorthodox strategy has a novelty factor, which may surprise your opponent. If repeated, the strategy becomes conventional and at times delusional in nature.

There is a debate whether we human being are rational or emotional creatures. We would like to call ourselves rational creature because it sounds good. We love to maintain that illusion. We are calm, controlled and composed when we follow conventional daily routines. This is a sign of rationality. Once the routine is disturbed and circumstances place us in adverse condition, we react to pressure. We become debilitate, impatient and confused. The rationality goes for a toss and our emotional side comes to the forefront. We have inscrutable expressions. In real life when we are under attack our responses are that of anger, betrayal and confusion. In hours of adversity, our mind is weaker than our emotions. This is precisely the time when we need strength and presence of mind. How can we make our mind stronger? We can do it by controlling our emotions with discipline and mental toughness, and developing cognitive attributes. The review here includes only five strategies. Even mentioning every strategies is beyond the scope of the book. The author has beautifully placed each strategy in a modern and personal context. He has done so by reaching into rich treasure trove of history. He has a penchant for presenting knotty issues with his trademark sublime touch. This book is highly recommended.


Profile Image for CristinaDraws.
45 reviews14 followers
February 2, 2019
I watched this man's interview by Tom Bilyeu on Impact Theory and thought he'd be an interesting read. Bought the book the next day. Oh, how my wallet hurts. I dislike this book so much, for the first time in my life I just can't even muster the energy to finish this cynical and very disturbing book on the most retrograde way to approach life I've ever seen. Sad, sad book.

I officially read half. Quite literally, half of what felt like the thickest book in the history of books. I guess some people could appreciate this book's content, and as a business woman I thought it'd be an interesting approach to business and reality, and at first I focused on trying to pinpoint consciously what the author meant and how to contextualize it usefully (and positively) in everyday life. But the author never really takes any concept down to reality in essence. Not to me. He just keeps mentioning how in real life you can destroy your "enemy" and make them fail and succumb to their own mistakes. I think this book is the saddest reflection of the ego complex that makes the world function so poorly and it's just setting us back instead of moving us forward in a positive and empowering way.

That being said, at some point he brings up interesting concepts with things different than literal war and enemy talk, like mentioning Hitchcock's strategies for filmmaking and some other more applicable strategies when he brings up political campaigns in the US, that focused more on self empowerment and situation handling rather than just some "enemy" destroying crap.

Despite that, the antagonistic, negative bits are more frequent than the empowering, interesting ones, so after a while it became quite an effort just to read my way to the half of this book.

This is a very cynical, ego-centered, power maniac, fear based book in general and I just can't stand it. If I ever muster the courage to finish the last half, I will and may even update the review. But I'm at a point where the closest next chapter has a headline that reads something like, "the war of deceit". So, how about, maybe just... No.
Profile Image for Soha Ashraf.
403 reviews373 followers
July 25, 2023
I hope people never have to go through war situations and there is peace everywhere. However, this book discusses only conventional warfare; whereas hybrid and biological warfare is far more dangerous because you don't know who the enemy is.
Profile Image for Abhishek.
1 review
March 25, 2018
33 Strategies of War is written by Robert Greene who is a master psychologist, who knows people and circumstances inside out. His research goes to about 3000 years, where the art of war originated. He breaks down the different strategies used by the people in power(mostly monarchs and dictators). He goes deep into the concepts of winning a war, and breaks them down into Historical Examples showing how the particular strategy will provide benefits. I agree, it is hard to implement this strategies but what is more important about them is the way he puts them forward. The whole book is 1140 pages and is a must read for people going into politics as it gives you a huge advantage over your competitors who are still pretty backward in their psychology.
Profile Image for Paulo.
116 reviews
April 26, 2015
Meh...

I was looking for a good book on military strategies as I like history and a lot of history is about war, however I simply didn't find it here. It has some glimpses of good historical situations that serve to illustrate tactics but then he ruins it with loads of pseudo-psychology self help bull shit...
Profile Image for I.F. Adams.
434 reviews6 followers
March 25, 2016
An strange mix of history, tactics, and self-help that all collapses into a pseudo-intellectual pile of garbage. Tries too hard to connect the dots between personal life and war settings.
Profile Image for Ahmed Kosovac.
13 reviews6 followers
January 26, 2021
Činjenica da sam do kraja pročitao ovu bolesno dosadnu knjigu samo pokazuje moju istinsku želju za završavanjem stvari koje počnem raditi.
Profile Image for Dean.
495 reviews123 followers
May 14, 2017
It's a lovely sunny afternoon, and I'm sitting here in my flat near the window enjoying the flair and pleasant atmosphere!!!
I'm asking myself how to review such an awesome book as this....
Let me begin by saying that this indeed is one of the most important books I have ever read in my entire life so far.
In my humble opinion it should become a compulsory read for everyone who wants to cope
successfully with the strains and pressures which modern life demands from all of us!!!
What you actually have in your hands with"the 33 strategies of war" by Robert Greene is an elaborate and thoroughly researched piece of work embracing the techniques which will put you on your way by the yellow brick road to the emerald city !!!
What I mean by this is,"the 33 strategies of war" will indeed turn out to be a great help in your way of success and victory against the intrigues and dealings you'll have ever to suffer with....
My experience during my readings has been kind of an eye opener!!!
Enlightened and full of handy and helpful quotations and thoughts from a variety of sources....
Let me say that the book for himself is really pretty good elaborate, and with letters in an comfortable size which will make it easy to read for you, handsome too, with different colors to highlights important aspects.
This book starts from the premise that life himself is warfare, and you must be prepare to be able to defend yourself against attacks....
Here you have defensive and offensive warfare strategies, with explanations about unconventional (dirty) warfare, and the meaning of self-directed warfare.
Particularly the passive-aggression strategy has capture my full attention!!!
Yes, five stars and my full recommendation.....
Dean:)





Profile Image for Franco Arda.
Author 2 books33 followers
October 3, 2011
Military collected more genuine intellects and risk thinkers than most if not all other professions ... and Robert Greene puts his vast knowledge of military hitory knowledge and insights into this outstanding book. He combines in a unique way strategy, philosophy and history.

The book is comprised into five parts;
I) SELF-DIRECTED WARFARE
II) ORGANIZATIONAL (TEAM) WARFARE
III) DEFENSIVE WARFARE
IV) OFFENSIVE WARFARE
V) UNCONVENTIONAL (DIRTY) WARFARE

The first part, SELF-DIRECTED WARFARE, is absolutely mind-blowing! Greene starts the book as only very few can match. We read how the greatest generals in history saw the limits of knowledge, experience and theory and how brilliantly the great philosopher of war Carl von Clausewitz summarized those ideas. The importance of having no principles by Napoleon and how to wage war on your mind. We learn from the Samurai times why we are our own worst enemy, the illusion of limitless time and a consequent lack of reality that faces us all.

A fantastic read on military strategy and wisdom.
Profile Image for NON.
558 reviews185 followers
August 25, 2017
Mr. Greene writes the realist s*** ever. He never fails to surprise me and INTEREST me.

This book is very strategic and it's not really about waging wars, it's more like strategies to use whether in your business or your life to be in control and know how to act.

Powerful tips and it takes a lot of nerves and courage to be applied in one's life.

It's excellent especially to those who love History. He's so good in taking us back in time and paint the picture clear for us in a very smart way.

Exciting, informative and brilliant.
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